Stoke City has already beaten Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United this season. The Potters have long been known as the "Little Engines That Could," sticking around with far more notable sides than themselves to survive in the Premier League. The next scalp could be that of the leaders of English soccer on Sunday, as Arsenal pays its annual visit to the Britannia.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stoke City +325
Arsenal -108
Draw +245
Over/Under 2.5 (under -140)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Considering the fact that Stoke City is 5-1-4 at home this year, a +325 price on it might seem like a steal. That said, Arsenal is 6-2-3 on the road and is second to just Leicester City in away wins. That's why it is the odds on favorite at -108.
The total almost has to be low in this duel. Stoke has one of the lowest total scoring teams in the league at 2.19 total goals per match, and that's why this one is set at 2.5 and -140 vig on the under.
KEY INJURIES
Everything is pretty much status quo on the injury front for Arsenal. There are some huge names out of the fold, though the newest addition to the list, David Ospina could be back on Sunday from his groin injury he picked up during the FA Cup last weekend.
Stoke would love to have back Xherdan Shaqiri in this fixture, but the Swiss midfielder won't play this weekend after surprisingly sitting out against Norwich on Wednesday without appearing on the injury list. Geoff Cameron is also a crucial absentee for the Potters.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"In certain games we've been unlucky, other times we've not performed and you also have to give credit to the opposition. Teams have come here, frustrated us and at times got breaks to take games away from us. For the most part we've been okay, ideally we want to be solid in the top half for the rest of the season now." – Stoke City manager Mark Hughes on the position his Potters sit in after 21 matches in 2015-16
RECENT FORM
Arsenal's offense has been clicking of late, netting three goals against both Liverpool and Sunderland in successive matches to push both games past the total. The Gunners missed an opportunity to stay clear of Leicester at the top of the table on Wednesday, giving up an equalizer to Liverpool in stoppage time in an epic 3-3 draw at Anfield.
Stoke badly needed that 3-1 win over Norwich on Wednesday. That stopped the bleeding from poor showings against Doncaster, Liverpool and West Brom in recent matches. The over is 4-1 in the Potters' last five matches overall.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Joselu and Bojan Krkic are starting to really look good up front for Stoke City, and these men parlayed with Marko Arnautovic are starting to make the Potters a little more formidable up front. None of the three are world class players, but they've all got this knack of showing up in the right place at the right time in big matches.
However, we feel like the midfield is going to be where Arsenal wins this match. Mesut Ozil might be the most underappreciated player in all of England at the moment, especially with Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere yet to suit up this term for the Gunners. Stoke's midfield has been dinged up of late, and not having Shaqiri is going to prove to be a real problem.
Look for Olivier Giroud to get back on the scoring ledger on Sunday afternoon to lead the Gunners to another three points to stay at the top.
Arsenal 2, Stoke City 0
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between Stoke City and Arsenal will take place at 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, January 17, 2016 at Britannia Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
